Seduction, Corruption and Redemption-Minyanville

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Seduction, Corruption and Redemption

Todd Harrison Oct 29, 2008 7:30 am


		Finding the path to globalization.

“Lately I’ve been running on faith. What else can a poor boy do?”
--Eric Clapton

Oscar Wilde once said that skepticism is the beginning of faith. Investors around the world are finding faith as a function of need.

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It’s easy to be consumed by the shifting social mood as the world turns and Rome burns. Societal acrimony is percolating into the election, geopolitical risks persist and an uneasy feeling abounds that another shoe will soon drop.

We’ve explored both sides of the market ride as this process of price discovery permeates. The friction between opinions is where true education resides and we must assimilate the spectrum of risk and reward if we’re to proactively prepare for the future.

While a multitude of fluid factors will define our forward progress, one dynamic has been a consistent and persistent theme. As global indices swoon, the value of investments decline and standards of living erode, the transference of guilt abounds as people point fingers and place blame.

I recently watched a debate about who is responsible for our current state of hate. Wall Street, Washington, the Middle East and mainstream media were all mentioned as root causes of the financial crisis. I couldn’t help sense that the discussion itself was endemic of the mindset that got us into trouble in the first place.

The A.D.D. immediate gratification “zero percent financing” lifestyle that was enjoyed by many and encouraged by most finally came full circle. The unwinding of societal abundance and attendant austerity will come to define this time with the benefit of historical hindsight.
There were certainly predatory lending practices in play from those who abused the system. Those actions were magnified by a grand experiment designed to suspend the business cycle and replace legitimate economic expansion with credit-fueled growth.


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tags:

USA, NATIONALIZATION, BLAME

Comments (15)

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Mr Bacan

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10-29-2008, 3:46 pm
Toddo, Great article. If I was a fund manager, I'd be selling into any rallies. Why? because I can't see next years earnings being very good (as discussed on Minyanville). When there are bad earnings, there will be Read More

Dan Conine

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10-29-2008, 5:25 pm
In the blame of "moving off the farm", I think there is some truth. The whole truth, however, is in the numerical costs and the daily picture of what it costs to live. When cheap oil replaced labor on the farms, people learned that it was Read More

William Sinacori

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10-30-2008, 8:48 pm
Toddo, You wrote: "We must establish a fresh international foothold, admit the error of our ways and begin to rebuild trust. From there, we should allow for a seismic readjustment that will bring currency, commodity, e Read More

Amy M

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11-01-2008, 3:57 pm
or our economic savior or necessarily sustainable, especially for food products. We've been "globalizing" since before the silk roads opened up. Sumerians traded with the far flung middle east for wood and silver (they Read More

Jim M

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11-01-2008, 11:01 pm
How about tossing the conglomerates out there as part of the problem? Like Wal-Mart which chews up the opportunity of small business's. Remember back in the 70's when anti trust laws limited size so that we could retain opportunity for Read More


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Todd Harrison is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Minyanville. Prior to his current role, Mr. Harrison was President and head trader at a $400 million dollar New York-based hedge fund. Todd welcomes your comments and/or feedback at todd@minyanville.com.

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